Could This Surprising Cryptocurrency Become the Next XRP?

It's easy to understand the allure of XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) for crypto investors. Between November 2024 and January 2025, it soared nearly 600% in value, eventually hitting a 52-week high of $3.39 in mid-January.

However, since then, XRP has slumped badly. It's now down 35%, and shows little sign of regaining momentum. As a result, I've been looking for "the next XRP" -- a low-cost, high-upside cryptocurrency capable of skyrocketing in price just like XRP. My top pick right now is Sui (CRYPTO: SUI), and here's why.

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What is Sui?

Sui is the latest in a long line of highly touted Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) challengers. While Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) is currently the top Ethereum challenger, Sui has often been referred to as a potential "Solana killer." So, in terms of current pecking order, there's Ethereum, there's Solana, and there's Sui.

Sui currently ranks No. 12 among all cryptocurrencies, with a market cap of $10 billion. That's all the more impressive given that Sui only launched in April 2023. In just two years, it has already become one of the top cryptocurrencies in the world.

Image source: Getty Images.

To give you an idea of just how big the potential market opportunity is for Sui, Solana has an $80 billion market cap, while Ethereum has a $300 billion market cap. So if Sui manages to catch Solana, it might increase in value eight-fold. If it manages to close the gap with Ethereum, it might increase in value by 30-fold.

Similarities between Sui and XRP

What's particularly interesting is how many similarities there are between Sui and XRP. Both are currently trading at more than 40% discounts to their all-time highs. Both also hit 52-week highs in January 2025, amid a wave of crypto euphoria.

That's not all. Both are strong candidates to get spot ETFs this year, and both have high-profile Silicon Valley companies backing them. XRP has Ripple Labs, while Sui has Mysten Labs. To date, Mysten Labs has raised over $300 million in financing to support the build-out of the Sui blockchain ecosystem.

Moreover, if you look at trading activity on the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN), both XRP and Sui rank among the top five cryptocurrencies in terms of 24-hour trading volume. While Sui may not be a household name quite yet, traders are certainly aware of it.

So why is Sui not generating the same types of headlines as XRP? Well, Sui launched in 2023 as the crypto winter of 2022 was coming to an end. That was bad timing, to say the least. The last thing investors want to hear about when the market is at the very bottom is a new, highly speculative cryptocurrency.

However, Sui has certainly made up for lost time, and is now starting to attract more attention from institutional investors. In August 2024, a research report from 21Shares ("Is Sui a Solana Killer?") highlighted Sui's impressive performance metrics, including its blazing-fast speeds.

Sell XRP, buy Sui?

Will Sui really be able to outperform XRP over the long haul? It depends on the long-term growth prospects of both. If you think that Ripple (XRP) can become a world leader in cross-border payments, you buy XRP. If you think that Solana and Ethereum are ripe for disruption, then you buy Sui.

Going forward, one major point of differentiation might be stablecoins, which have emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments of the crypto market. Right now, stablecoins appear to be taking a big bite out of XRP's core business (cross-border payments). In contrast, stablecoins are likely to be complementary for the Sui blockchain ecosystem, helping to drive more user activity.

Upside potential in 2025

According to online prediction markets, XRP has a 72% chance of hitting a price of $3.40 before the end of the year, and a 30% chance of hitting $3.75. Based on its current price of $2.20, that means XRP has a relatively high likelihood of soaring 50% or more by the end of 2025.

Given all its similarities with XRP, I'm expecting Sui to meet or exceed this type of performance. If Sui is able to regain its highs from January, then it could soar more than 75% by the end of the year. If you are willing to accept the risk of significant volatility ahead, Sui could be yet another way to diversify your portfolio with a low-cost, high-upside cryptocurrency.

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Dominic Basulto has positions in Ethereum, Solana, Sui, and XRP. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum, Solana, Sui, and XRP. The Motley Fool recommends Coinbase Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.